Avatar: Homecoming
by JChandley
Summary: Battered and bruised, the humans return to Earth only to put new plans into action, sending three more Avatars to Pandora. Chap 11-The tension increases as Kate makes a startling discovery
1. Chapter 1: Planning

**I don't own Avatar.**

**_My first Avatar Fanfic, chapters will be uploaded as I write them._**

**_Enjoy! :)_**

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><p>'So you're telling me, a whole fleet of us, with Samsons, Scorpions and all, were stopped by the indigenous?' Lieutenant Banks threw his arms up incredulously.<p>

'Y…yes sir' Administrator Parker Selfridge mumbled.

Banks stared at Selfridge for a while, then sighed heavily. He pushed himself out of his chair with some difficulty, his 20-stone figure not helping him. Selfridge hated it when he did this, his little speeches he normally saved for recruits.

'Do you know why we need unobtanium, Administrator?'

'Yessir,'

Banks carried on as though he hadn't heard.

'Because this Little Rock goes for forty million dollars a kilo.'

' I know that sir I briefed my…'

Banks stopped him with the raise of a hand.

'I'm not that interested in the money, Parker' He paced in circles around the desk, making Selfridge uncomfortable when he came close. ' This rock is vital for matter-antimatter energy generators, space travel, superluminal communications and even Maglev trains. For Christ's sake, I came to work on a Maglev train! We're the biggest private company in the world.

'I've got world leaders breathing down my goddamn neck, asking me where the unobtanium is!'

Selfridge said nothing, his sweat making his shirt stick to his skin.

'We need this, Parker.'

Selfridge shuffled his feet, his hands behind his back. If he didn't say anything now he would be at risk of making the general even angrier, maybe even lose his job.

'With all due respect sir, the Na'vi were a lot stronger than anticipated.'

' Fuck you Parker.'

Selfridge closed his eyes, trying to do everything he could to keep his job. This trip to Pandora had been unbelievably expensive, it had cost trillions of dollars. The plan had been to go to Pandora, persuade the natives to leave their little 'Hometree', get the unobtanium and go. They'd sell it to different world leaders, making their money back with a tidy profit on the side.

But Jake Sully and Colonel Quaritch had ruined it all. It had been Quaritch's idea to wage a full-blown war on the blue bastards, because Sully had become 'One Of The People'. This shit sounded like something from Ancient Africa, for fucks sake. If it weren't for those two, maybe it would have gone all right.

Maybe. There were others still there. There was one thing that lessened the blow for Selfridge though.

Food.

When an Avatar ate, the nutritional value of the food wasn't the same as when a human was eating. The vitamins would go into the Avatar's body, but not the Human's. Theoretically, a guy could die of starvation when in an Avatar, whilst the Avatar itself was well fed. That's why when Sully and co. had to steal some Avatar Beds, they took food too.

There was only a limited supply on the base however. They'd probably die, with no way of coming back to Earth. They couldn't live off of Pandoran food either- their bodies weren't accustomed to it.

He explained all of this to Banks. The RDA would wait a few weeks, then go back- offer the humans food in exchange for their compliance. They'd be taken off world and prospecting would resume.

Banks sat through all of this, nodding at times.

'We'd have to redesign the AMP suit as well,' Selfridge explained. 'Just in case. Sully told me that Quaritch was shot through the glass front with arrows. I propose we get rid of the glass and replace it with metal, with a video screen to see out. I also propose… I propose we bring in tanks, sir. We hope not to invoke combat, but if we should…' He trailed off.

'Wait a minute, did you just say tanks?' Lieutenant Banks interrupted.

'Yessir'

'We haven't used tanks in combat for fifty years.'

'Sir, they're perfect for the field. They're arrow-proof and all terrain. We couldn't lose.'

'So you're suggesting we go back?

'Yessir. I understand that this rock is vital to humankind's existence, and it can only be found on Pandora. This is the only option.'

Banks, now back in his seat, said 'I know Parker. I'll get plans underway. You can leave.'

'Thank you sir.' Selfridge held back a smile and made for the automatic doors.

'Oh, and one last think administrator, one last thing. I've gotta say, I understand what you're going through. I'm… I'm sorry. It was an incredibly selfish thing Sully did. Be in my office tommorow at seven sharp.'

Selfridge nodded. Outside, as he made his way to his car, Parker Selfridge breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

Hook, line and sinker.


	2. Chapter 2: Hunting

**Sorry if there's any spelling mistakes with the Na'vi: I've tried to keep everything accurate.**

**Enjoy! :D**

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><p>The Hexapede trotted through the forest, and Jake and Neytiri followed.<p>

It stopped for a moment, its head jerking left and right. Jake was lying on the floor, Neytiri by his side. He once again marveled at the beauty of the forest, the beauty of the animal the Na'vi called 'Yerik'.

He was in a particularly attractive part of the forest with long green vines hanging from the trees that towered above him. The multicolored flowers around him provided a sweet smell that mingled with the fresh taste of the Pandoran air. The Yerik munched on the flowers around it for a while before moving on.

Neytiri touched Jake's shoulder briefly before slowly moving into a crouch. Jake followed suit. He loved this, the thrill of the hunt, the knowledge that if he breathed out of place he wouldn't be eating as well tonight. This was infinitely better than the food they served on that dying planet, Earth. He wondered how he'd lived through most his life there.

Slowly, surely, he followed Neytiri, bringing the arrow he had to his bow. His mate shook her head, whispering:

'Not yet, my Jake.'

Jake knew better than to go against the word of a better hunter than he. He lowered his bow, moving swiftly but quietly into cover behind a mossy rock. The six-legged animal tentatively walked down a slope into a dipped clearing filled with the beautiful, pink and blue spiral plants.

He remembered when he first arrived on Pandora, and his dangerous encounter involving these plants and a Hammerhead. He smiled at the memory. Neytiri looked back, smiled at him, touched his arm and said:

'Now, Jake.'

_Her voice is so beautiful_ Jake thought. He loved it when she whispered to him. He tried to throw these thoughts out of his head now, trying to focus on the hunt. The Yerik was just standing still now. Perfect.

Whilst he nocked his bow once more, Neytiri began to sing.

'Teriron ayoe ayngane Zera' u'

Jake raised his bow, tensing his shoulders.

'Rerol ayoe ayngane, Ha ftxey'

Pulling back the string, he looked down the arrow towards the animal. Almost unconsciously, Neytiri moved his arm up a bit to correct his posture.

'Awpot set ftxey ayngal a lu, ayngahip'

Jake aimed at the animal's neck, readying his shot.

'Awpot a Na'viru…'

Breathing out, Jake released the string.

'…Yomfiying.' Neytiri finished the Hunting Song. The arrow whizzed through the air, hitting the animal in the neck. A perfect shot.

The Yerik slumped to the ground, never feeling a thing. Not celebrating yet, Jake rushed over to the animal's dead body, kneeling beside it. Out of breath due to the adrenaline, he began to say the prayer in Na'vi:

'I see you, my brother, and thank you. Your spirit belongs to Eywa but your body remains for the People.'

When he'd finished, he turned to find Neytiri behind him. She wasn't smiling now- she was showing respect to her prey. She put a hand on Jake's shoulder.

'Well done Jake. Eywa would be proud.'

Jake broke away from Neytiri, so glad that she had chosen him as her mate. He kissed her lightly on the mouth. He relished these moments, as they never showed their affection for each other like this at the Omaticaya's camp.

'I see you, Jake'

'I see you Neytiri'

They stood there together for a while before Jake noticed the light was going. As darkness descended on Pandora, the plants and animals started to glow a distinct blue. It wasn't long before everything, including himself and Neytiri was glowing green and blue. Even after all this time, he was still in awe of this wondrous spectacle.

'Neytiri…' he whispered.

She put a finger to his lips before he could say anything else. Instead of speaking, she nodded her head upwards and called her Ikran.

Taking this as a sign, Jake whistled for his, never having got the hang of the guttural sound the other Na'vi made. The magnificent birds swooped down from the sky, landing right beside Jake and Neytiri. Climbing up onto its back, he made tsahaylu with his Ikran. A flurry of thoughts too complex to read flooded his mind. Jake closed his eyes until the bond was completed and him and his Ikran became one.

Neytiri had already done the same. Before he could think, Neytiri's Ikran flew up into the sky. Jake followed her. The wind rushed in his braid as he watched the ground grow smaller and smaller. At a loss he looked around himself, not finding Neytiri. Suddenly panicked, he shouted her name.

'Neytiri! Neytiri!' He turned around, feeling sick.

What if she'd fallen? He was on his own in the forest, what if she…

He saw her and her Ikran, now disconnected, sat on a thick branch that extended horizontally from a huge tree. Breathing a sigh of relief, he flew his Ikran over to her, disconnected his braid and sat beside her.

'Neytiri,' He gasped. 'Don't you ever…'

'Jake' she interrupted, calm as anything. 'Look.' Still somewhat worried, he looked up at the night sky to see something beautiful.

Polyphemus, the huge blue gas giant that Pandora orbited, was hanging in the night sky, its huge presence beautiful amongst the other smaller stars. It was a cloudless night, and he could see Polyphemus in all of its beautiful glory.

It was the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. This was what life was about, this was why he was Na'vi, not human. He was speechless. He choked, holding back tears.

Neytiri looked at him, her face full of worry.

'My Jake, what is wrong?' she said.

'It's so beautiful…'he murmured.

Smiling a little, Neytiri took Jake's head in her hands, stroking his hair.

'I see you, my Jake.' She whispered into his ear.

'I see you, Neytiri.' He whispered back.

They stopped there for some time, gazing at the giant, their tails intertwined. Two Na'vi, watching the night and all of it's wonders.


	3. Chapter 3: Scheming and Worrying

**All of the language and sciencey bits are from the Pandoran Survival Guide**

**Enjoy! :D**

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><p>Selfridge sighed as he got ready to enter cryosleep. It is true that you don't dream in cryo, and neither do you age. This sort of worried but reassured him.<p>

Reassured him: because he wouldn't loose a big chunk of his lifetime sleeping in some goddamn spaceship. Worried him: because things could happen to Earth whilst he was away.

What would happen when he was away this time?

He was lucky- if you could call it that- in that he didn't have a significant other, wife or any other family. His last remaining relative- his cousin had died when he was on Pandora. Drug overdose. He hardly knew the girl.

He received the message via superluminal communications, a system that exploited a loophole in the laws of physics to communicate between planets instantly.

He pretended that he hadn't been bothered, but in a way he had. He was the last remaining member of his family. It was a scary thought.

Going into cryosleep scared him too. The thought that he wasn't going to think for six years, and remember nothing, scared him immensely. Once he was awake he was fine.

He'd explained so to Banks in a moment of weakness and the guy had laughed in his face, calling him a baby. Banks could be one mean son of a bitch that's for sure.

The ship itself would be fueled by a matter- antimatter reaction, which would create an enormously powerful explosion. Before unobtanium was discovered, vast energy- consuming refrigeration systems were needed to control the sheer amount of energy, but the intense magnetic fields of unobtanium kept the explosion focused towards the engine now.

Selfridge reminded himself that this was why he was doing it. That… and shareholders. What they wanted, they got, and when your shareholders had the United States Government amongst its ranks, you kind of _had _to get what they wanted.

He had timed this down to the tee. The current ISV Venture Star, number five, which would be on Pandora now, would only give the people enough food for six years. Hopefully, if all went to plan, they would run out of food more or less when Selfridges Venture Star arrived.

Should they run out of food significantly before, the ISV currently orbiting Pandora would send more shuttles down. He wanted them to comply, not to kill them. There was a significant amount of humans still on Pandora, and Selfridge had no interest in murdering his own kind.

They would also be growing Avatars, their drivers being more rigorously checked. Some people didn't want Avatars due to what happened with Sully, but what with the terrain and Animals, it was too big a risk not to have Avatars.

Only three Avatars would be grown now, however. The drivers, he didn't know and didn't want to know. Other people checked them, and he trusted them to make the right decision.

The incident only happened with Sully because he wasn't military trained. Selfridge was inside the ISV now, on his cryo bed. They were about to take off and he wanted to be ready.

Lieutenant Banks wasn't getting ready for cryosleep.

He was communicating.

Communicating with the ISV Venture star currently orbiting Pandora.

The truth was, he hated Selfridge's plan. Starve them? What was he thinking? There were so many things that could go wrong with it, it was unreal.

No, he wasn't going to carry out that plan. He had a plan of his own, which he's mentioned to the shareholders and the majority approved of it. He'd let Selfridge think he had a plan.

It would be easier that way.

Banks had been sending messages. Short ones, so that they reached Pandora quickly. A message popped up on the screen now. He was in a room of his own, so that no one would bother him.

The message read:

**Okay**

This was in response to the message Banks had sent before, which read:

**Initiate Operation Na'vi**

He smiled, glad that they kept it short. It cost 7,500 dollars a bit to send these messages. He didn't mind. It was all necessary. He shut down the program just as a scientist came in.

'Sir?' The bespectacled woman said. 'We're gonna need you to come to cryostasis.'

Banks smiled, looking at Laura, the scientist.

_Dog_ he thought as he got up. He smiled at Laura, putting his arm around her.

'Laura, you know I like you.' He said. She looked a little confused as he lead her into the decompression chamber.

'Yes sir?' She said, not quite sure of herself.

'I'm going to need you to do something for me,' Banks stated as the hiss of the closing door stopped and decompression began. He knew this woman was a high achiever.

'I want you to take me out of cryostasis ever couple of months or so.'

'Sir, that could be potentially dangerous to your health.'

'I know that, Laura, but I've been speaking with the president and he assures me that it would be… let's say beneficial to your career.'

Decompression stopped and the door opened.

'Really, sir?' Laura asked, now excited.

'Yes, Laura.' Banks said, smiling, his arm still round her shoulders. They walked out of the door, and entered the stasis room, in which many cryosleep beds were lined up neatly.

'Thank you sir, thank you!'

'Don't thank me just yet Laura, just do as I've asked, and everything should be fine,'

Her concerns overwhelmed by thoughts of promotion, she simply nodded.

'Atta girl.'

As he lay in the stasis module, strapped in and ready to be inserted into the little compartment, his last thought was of how easy that was.

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><p>Jake lay with Neytiri upon a bed of soft leaves, the Omaticaya clan sleeping around them. Hammocks had not yet been constructed for everyone yet, and as the Na'vi had a strong sense of community, everyone in the clan was sleeping on leaves inside what was to be their new Hometree. Later, the hammocks would be hung from branches, but for now, everyone slept inside Hometree.<p>

Jake and Neytiri lay together gazing into each other's eyes, the bioluminescence making the Na'vi appear as a series of lines and dots through the darkness.

'Jake,' Neytiri whispered.

'Yeah?' he replied.

'Will the Sky People come back?'

Jake had not thought of himself as a human ever since Neytiri had told him he was Na'vi in his heart.

However, his human cynicism was still there. He believed the humans would return. Hopefully peaceful, but he doubted it.

'No,' he whispered back. 'I don't think so.'

Neytiri smiled, putting her head on Jake's chest.

'Then we are safe, My Jake. Safe in the arms of Eywa.'

Drifting off to sleep, she managed a sleepy 'I see you My Jake.'

Jake stared at her closed eyes, his mind full of worry. He kissed her on the forehead.

'I see you My Neytiri.'

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><p>The ISV Venture Star Five received the message just before they were going to send a Valkyrie down to Pandora. Lieutenant Grisby read the message, then called three other high ranking people into the room- people that he could trust. They all read the message on the screen.<p>

Initiate Operation Na'vi

Not saying a word, they nodded to each other. Grisby broke the silence.

'Inform the Avatar Drivers.'


	4. Chapter 4: Weaving

**A shorter one for chapter four, because I think that this scene goes well on its own.**

**I took the liberty of guessing how long Jake had been in the Marines, but everything else should be accurate.**

**Enjoy! ;D**

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><p>All Na'vi clans have a focus on something, be it hunting, carving or pottery. The Omaticaya specialized in weaving. It was this that was being carried out today.<p>

Many Na'vi sat around the few making the last hammock that was to be constructed, including Norm- in his avatar- and Jake.

Norm had chosen not to try to permanently place his human soul in his avatar body because he had thought it would be too risky. He said one morning after Jake had become Na'vi:

'I don't think Eywa would like it too much,'

Jake had laughed before reassuring him it would work. Probably.

'Ah,' Norm laughed. 'That's why.' Jake had laughed along with him in a way he couldn't with most Na'vi. Jake was glad Norm was still there.

'Also,' Norm had said. 'I'd miss my human body. I love the Na'vi but I was born human, y'know?'

Norm and Jake watched Mo'at and other Na'vi- including Neytiri- carry on weaving.

'It's beautiful…' Norm said. Jake nodded. It was true, there was something about a clan joining all together to help the community. It created a warm, trusting feeling that was completely gone on Earth, a world where even the word trust was falling into disuse.

Mo'at motioned for the others to stop before speaking herself.

' The last hammock for our clan is almost complete!'

A cheer rose up from the crowd.

'However, I think Jakesully should be the one to finish this Eywa k'sey nivi ' bri'sta. He saved our clan. Eywa looks upon you and smiles, Jakesully. Come.' She said, motioning with her four-fingered hand to come over. Norm nudged him and Jake slowly rose, nervous.

He made his way through the crowd, shooting an exaggerated confused look at Neytiri. She giggled. Jake sat next to Mo'at and she handed him the thin branch. He sat for a few seconds, dumbfounded as to where to stitch. Neytiri smiles happily and pointed to a spot on the hammock.

The hammock was constructed mostly in vertical lines running along the length of it. He saw that one gap was bigger than all of the others, and slightly nervously, wove it through with a technique Neytiri had shown him.

Mo'at shouted in Na'vi:

'It's done!' A cheer erupted from the crowd and Jake felt a little jolt of pride.

Neytiri looked at him and beamed warmly, laughing.

He laughed too, a little nervously at first, then wholeheartedly.

Later, when everyone was sat around the newly ignited fire pit, Norm asked Jake the same question Neytiri had asked him many nights ago.

'Jake, what do you think'll happen when the RDA return? I mean, they gotta bring food right?'

Jake swallowed the meat he'd been chewing, deciding to be truthful this time.

'I think they might, but they're not gonna bring food unless the get unobtanium or some other thing to make a profit. I might be wrong, they might just want to study.'

'Will we let them?' Norm asked.

'Yeah, I guess we'd let them study. Not everyone's Quaritch.

'But they'll come back. I don't know what they're gonna do.'

'Well, Norm replied, putting his food- which was on a leaf plate- down. 'It would be stupid for them to wage war seeing as though they lost badly last time.'

Jake nodded, a little more reassured now.

'Yeah, I guess you're right.'

They were in silence for a minute or two before Neytiri bounded over and greeted them.

'Oel ngati kameie Jake, Norm.' She said.

'Oel ngati kameie' Jake said back, touching his head to complete the greeting. Norm, ever the shy one, replied with just a:

'Kalti.'

After some talk together, Neytiri took Jake by the hand and led him off.

'Come, I have something to show you!' Jake, being pulled by his mate, shrugged at Norm. Norm let out a comic sigh before waving them off.

Jake followed Neytiri as she ran up the spirals inside Kelultral. Jake looked back and was amused to see Norm talking awkwardly to a Na'vi girl who had attained her Ikran the day before.

Looking up as he was running, Jake saw that his mate was at the top whilst he was hardly halfway up.

'Keep up Jake!' She shouted, giggling.

He reached the top, out of breath as he climbed onto a branch where Neytiri was sat. Ten years of the marines and she could outrun him. He went over and sat next to his mate.

Seeing Iknimaya in the distance, he looked out over the forest with Neytiri by his side. This time she put her head on Jake's shoulder.

'Jake, what is I see you in English?' She asked. He smiled, proud that she had remembered what the language was called. He put his arm around her and said:

'There isn't anything like that apart from I love you… it's not as strong but stronger… it's hard to explain.'

She turned to look into his eyes, her face deadly serious.

'Then, my Jake, I love you.'

She stood and hugged him.

'I love you too Neytiri.'

Looking out at the Hallelujah Mountains, Jake was reminded of something that Grace had said:

_There are many dangers on Pandora, and one of the subtlest is that you may come to love it too much._


	5. Chapter 5: Landing

**New chapter! :D **

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><p>'She sure is big.' Kate Warner said when she walked into the hanger that housed the Valkyrie. Matt Harris and Diablo Garcia, the other Avatar Drivers, followed her. They in turn were followed by more than two dozen scientists and engineers.<p>

'Way to state the obvious.' Diablo said. Kate shot him a stern look. He just shrugged. The massive, sloped door was already open, revealing a compartment of the ship with crude fold-down chairs.

Exopacks were hung above each of the chairs, ready for when they'd land on Pandora. Beside Kate, Matt took a look out of a window, not saying anything, staring into space. Kate turned to him.

'You scared Matt?' She asked lightly.

'No.' he said back. Well. That was that then.

Diablo, already in the ship, poked his head around the opening.

'Get the hell in here guys!' he shouted. 'You wanna be left behind?'

Kate sighed and jogged into the ship. She sat on one of the flimsy seats, strapping herself in with the x-shaped belt. Diablo sat across from her, despite there being plenty of other seats.

He gave her a smirk. With all the people on board, the door closed. Flickering blue lights came on as the ship engines were turned on. The Valkyrie started rumbling.

Diablo perked up, an occasion that Kate guessed was going to be frequent on their short ride to Pandora.

'You'd think that the RDA would give us better accommodation.' He joked to no one in particular.

'Shut-up Diablo.' Kate said.

He looked into her eyes, seemingly unfazed.

'Please.' He said in that smooth yet slimy voice that reminded Kate of a snake. 'Call me Dia. It might not surprise you that I don't like my name.'

'Neither do I.' Kate snapped. 'And isn't it enough that we're going to a whole new planet? With life?'

The noise of the ship increased, as did the G-force. The Valkyrie was in space now, Just above Pandora. Kate relished at the idea of feeling solid ground beneath her feet.

'A feisty one!' Dia shouted. 'This is going to be fun!'

Kate scowled. Either none of the people had noticed their argument, or they were choosing not to. She guessed it was the latter, although the noise of the ship was so loud she wouldn't have been surprised if it was the former.

'How you managed to get your own avatar I don't know.' Kate retorted.

'Oh you're lecturing me about my credentials?' Diablo snarled, becoming angry now. 'At least I earned mine! My daddy didn't just put in a few good words in with the boss, I've worked my ass off to get this Avatar!'

'So have I!' Kate, now shouting more out of rage than the need to make herself heard. 'I passed all the same tests you did.'

'I swear that if you weren't a woman and I could move outta this seat I'd hit you! I've come right from the bottom, I was eating out of goddamn garbage cans when I was fifteen you little bitch! You've been pampered all of your life, and now you get a cushy job on a new planet!'

'This job isn't cushy!'

'Enough!' Matt said in a curiously quiet voice that cut through the noise of the engine.

'We're not even on Pandora yet. Stop getting at each others throats, please.'

Kat and Diablo went silent, giving each other venomous looks. An ear-shattering boom indicated the Valkyrie had entered Pandora's atmosphere.

Max Patel was in the lab testing plant samples when he heard the explosion. Or rather, it sounded like an explosion. He looked up from the vial he was holding, through the window designed to provide maximum light for visibility. He searched the landscape for a moment, eyes squinting before he saw the RDA Valkyrie descending from the sky.

'Oh, no…' He blurted out to himself.

Putting the vial down, he strode over to the exit. Lifting a panel, he took out an exopack and fixed it to his head. Max ensured it was working before opening the door into decompression. As the normal procedure was being carried out, he wondered why the RDA would be coming back.

Food? He doubted it. The heavy losses incurred by the battle for Pandora, and the subsequent exile of all but a few humans, left the base with enough food to last them for years. It had to be study or war. Max hoped with all of his heart that they were here to study- the potential use for some of the plants and animals could be lifesavers back on earth.

One particular plant that Norm had taken an interest in had the potential to cure all illnesses. Surely that would be a lot more profitable than some rock- couldn't the RDA see that?

He was worried. Not only for the humans, but for Jake and Neytiri too. In his perhaps weekly visits to the camp they seemed to be so happy together. Just being around them made Max smile.

The doors in front of him opened just as the Valkyrie was landing about 100 meters in front of him. Jogging over as the huge door was opening, he saw the mass of people inside. He waited, not knowing what else to do. A blonde haired, burly man ran over to him.

'What are you doing here?' Max spluttered.

'We've come to study…Max is it?' Max nodded sharply before saying:

'I don't think it's appropriate to be here.' Max had planned to have a full-blown argument but he was put off by the man's statement that they were there to study.

The blonde man shrugged.

'RDA orders. We came to assist you. We brought food, scientists, Avatars…'

'Avatars?' Max interrupted. The guy grinned.

'Yeah, Avatars. Another ship's coming down shortly to unload them.'

Max was tempted by his mention of Avatars. They could go and extract samples from places humans couldn't get to, so he wouldn't have to bother Jake. He knew that the Omaticaya were busy with the Hometree. A part of him knew Jake's wasn't going to like it, but the potential discoveries…

He couldn't. What if they turn on him?

'We haven't brought AMP suits, if that's what you're worried about. Look, we just want to help you out.' The blonde guy said.

'The Na'vi wouldn't like it…' Max muttered.

'The Na'vi need to learn that what happened before was because of two men.' The man recited. 'Everyone else was just following orders. I mean, we all gotta make a living somewhere, so do all these people.'

Max was silent. He could do with more people, and his Avatar linking expertise was going to waste. There was only so much he could learn from Norm about plants. He sighed before saying:

Jake ain't gonna like this…okay.'

'Okay?' The guy laughed before patting Max on the back. 'That's great. Name's Kellerman by the way.' Kellerman ran off and motioned for the people to get off of the Valkyrie.

Max wondered how the hell he was going to explain this to Jake.


	6. Chapter 6: Linking

**No Omaticaya in this chapter, sorry Neytiri lovers :)**

**And enjoy as always.**

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><p>The three Avatar Drivers entered the Biolab with Max Patel, where a handful of engineers were checking that everything was running smoothly with the artificial Na'vi.<p>

Matt, Diablo and Kate walked to their respective Avatars.

'They grow so fast…' Kate said to herself. Inside the incubator-like tube her Avatar gave a little kick. Kate laughed. It looked so alive, so real, and so…human.

She watched the tall blue figure, sleeping soundly. From it's long, slender tail to it's muscular midriff, right up to it's elegant, almost square-jawed head, it was every bit the beautiful creature.

_Her slender tail_ Kate thought. _Hers._

She touched the glass, smiling. She was every bit the child Kate never had.

'Beautiful, aren't they?' Max stated, checking the Avatars brain on a handheld tablet. Kate heard a low, rhythmic sound coming from Diablos direction. She turned her head, stepping backwards so she could see the dark-skinned man.

He was leaning on the glass tube that his Avatar was in, his arms folded. He was laughing. It was a dry, deep laugh that scratched around the edges of the room.

'What are you laughing about?' Kate snarled.

'You.' Diablo paused, then started laughing again, louder this time.

Kate thought that it was a deeply irritating sound and wished nothing more right now than to put him in his place.

'Why?' she asked.

Diablo pushed himself up and slowly walked over to where Kate was standing.

'It's not your goddamn baby,' he laughed. Kate flinched visibly, taken aback by how easily he could tell what she was thinking.

'It's nothing more than an empty shell, a husk of a being,'

Max carried on performing checks, seemingly oblivious to what was going on.

'It's a simple remote-controlled car, it's only purpose: to drive around in, for us to abuse.'

'It's a living being.' Kate snapped, moving closer to Diablo, trying to look unfazed. Diablo cocked his head.

'You really believe that, don't you?' he smiled, moving in close to Kate, close enough so that she could feel his warm breath forcing itself into her lungs. 'These Avatars are here to be used. Just like the RDA is using us, just like we're using the Na'vi.'

He backed off, giving Kate room to breathe for herself.

_He's repulsive_ she thought. Diablo turned around, heading for the automatic doors.

'Nobody's using anybody!' she shouted after him.

'Oh, little girl, how naïve you are!' Diablo laughed again, now out of sight.

Kate sighed, turning back to her Avatar. Max had finished with Matt, and was now looking straight at her.

'Is that gonna be a problem?' he asked.

'No.' Kate said, turning away.

'Kate,' Max said, still looking at her. 'We've all got to work together. If Diablo is going to be a problem, I need to know. We can't have a rogue Avatar running around.'

'Looks like you already had one.' She said. She's heard about it from the guys on the ISV.

'You know what I mean,' Max let the comment slide. 'Is he?'

'No.' Kate didn't know why she was defending him. Maybe so she could get her own back.

'Good.' Max smiled, relieved but not quite trusting. 'Now, your Avatar looks absolutely fine, she's got great results on all of the tests. You should be able to start using them tomorrow.'

'Really? That soon?' Kate asked.

'Yeah. We'd just have to run some sensory-reflex tests and you'll be good to go. You know it's good you brought more guys. We'd have never been able to do it with the group I'd got.'

Kate smiled in anticipation, trying to dislodge the thought that Diablo Garcia had placed in her mind.

The next day, Kate was surprised to see that everything had been set up. When she'd tried to enter the Biolab, she saw people in white suits hosing down the now empty tubes.

A scientist told her to make her way to the linking room. Despite following signs, she managed to get lost a couple of times before finally finding the room. Hells Gate was a big place.

She entered to find a circular room with three Avatar link-up beds ready, their lids up. Matt and Diablo were already there, standing by their respective units.

'Sorry I'm late.' Kate mumbled.

'You should be,' Diablo retorted. 'Matt here made us wait.' He jabbed a thumb in Matt's direction.

Kate decided not to give a response. She didn't want to have an argument now.

'We're going in.' Diablo shouted to the technicians at the computers. Kate looked at the unit and felt a prick of fear.

_Now is not the time to become claustrophobic, Kate. _She told herself.

She climbed in, the cool, green, jelly-like substance feeling strange on her skin. It reminded her of those stress balls so many people squeezed back on Earth. Various wires were connected to ports that she didn't know about. The gel molded to her shape and was surprisingly comfortable.

Only the best for her semi-conscious body.

When the ring behind her started spinning at a regular speed, she pulled the unit's roof down, along with the metal chest plate.

Darkness washed over Kate, her only source of light being the little camera that relayed the image to one of the computers in the room.

She did as she was trained to do: relax her muscles and let her mind go blank. She closed her eyes and waited for the link to be connected, smiling.

Almost at once she felt as if her very soul was being lifted out of her body, and now she could see herself lying in the booth. She was having one of those strange out of body experiences she heard so much about on those medical programs.

Then, as if it had never been there, the feeling went and Kate found herself staring at darkness. She heard voices.

'Warner…link…test…now.'

Kate was surprised to realize that she wasn't staring at darkness at all- she just had her eyes closed.

What was wrong? Did it not work? Was the DNA wrong or something?

She opened her eyes to find a face staring down at her. A man, and he had an exopack fixed to his head.

'You with us Kate?' he asked, shining a small torch into her eyes. She blinked a few times, the light interfering with her vision.

'…Yes.' She managed, her body feeling oddly heavy.

Slowly, surely, she lifted her hand to her face to rub her eyes, and she was mildly surprised to find out it was blue.

Kate laughed, coming to her sense. She was in her Avatar body.

'Now,' the man said. 'Sit up slowly for me Kate and touch to your thumb to your fingers like this.'

He demonstrated and she did so.

'Great!' smiled.

After running through some more tests that made Kate feel like she'd been pulled over by a policeman, the man said that she was free to go to the course. Dia and Matt were already out there. More or less used to her body now, she walked to the door, giving a cursory wave to Max behind the glass. Outside, her whole world exploded.

She had never thought that Pandora could be so pretty. No, pretty was the wrong word. It was stunning, dazzling and resplendent.

She could see tall, unwavering trees in the distance marking entrance to the forest. Birds, the like of which she'd never seen, flew high in the sky, swooping and screeching at each other. It looked like they were playing.

The landscape was awash with green, and even the camp looked amazing. She breathed in the fresh air and decided that she was going to like this planet. It looked how she imagined the old earth looked like. Kate could just imagine dinosaurs roaming the forest.

She spent the rest of the day exercising and trying to keep out of Diablos way. It was an amazing experience made all the sweeter by the lack of Dia. Unfortunately, he caught sight of her just as evening fell upon Pandora.

The three Avatar Drivers were sat in the cabin that would be where their Avatars slept for the night.

'Amazing, isn't it?' Diablo said to both of them. With trepidation, Kate nodded, whilst Matt replied with an

'Absolutely.'

Kate was surprised to hear him talk.

'I can't wait to see what the forest is like.' Diablo said. And just like that, he went silent, the only sound in the cabin his breathing.

Diablo Garcia didn't talk to her for the rest of the day.

100 miles away, the Omaticaya slept soundly in their _nivi_, aware of the dangers of the forest yet unaware of the terrible evil that was about to befall them.


	7. Chapter 7: Running

The SA-2 Samson Tiltrotor thundered over the Pandoran forest, creating an unnatural wind and making the trees sway and the water splash. As the helicopter passed over a cliff, Kate screamed in ecstasy at the wondrous view ahead of her.

The blue-green crystal clear water stretched out for miles to her right, the pure green forest beginning at the top of rocky cliffs. It seemed that the pilot wanted to go sightseeing before they went to collect samples for Max.

Kate had no problem with that. No problem at all.

Turning left and tilting forward, the helicopter moved into the forest.

The wind whipped in Kate's hair. Her braid trailed behind her as if it were trying to see the forest too. Diablo and Matt were looking out of the other end of the Sampson, roaring in delight. Kate couldn't think of anywhere she'd rather be. This beat boring old space any day.

The .30 caliber light machine guns were strapped to the wall of the helicopter, gathering dust. Kate couldn't imagine using the guns against this forest. It didn't seem right.

Once they'd arrived at the co-ordinates that had been given to them, the helicopter slowed before shakily lowering to the ground. Kat jumped out of it before it touched the earth, eager to see the forest at the ground level. Her first impression was how big everything was, even looking through the eyes of her Avatar body.

There were tree trunks thicker than three men, and flowers that came up to her chest. She felt out of place with all of the RDA clothes on. She reached out and touched a flower that looked a little like a palm tree, but with bluey-green rigid leaves that extended in all directions. She was in the act of feeling the silky leaves when Diablo called out to her.

'Hey!' Kate turned around. 'You forgot your gun.'

'I'm a scientist, not a soldier.' She replied.

'I'm not a soldier either, it's just we need to be cautious. Who knows what's out there?' He handed her a machine gun and Kate put it back on the helicopter immediately.

'I don't need it.' She turned and walked away.

Diablo told the pilot to cut the engines and the three of the Avatars proceeded to look around for a good tree root to take a sample from. A perfect sample would be one taken from a healthy, thick root about three inches from another.

Right now, Kate couldn't care less about samples. Just being in the forest with the flora and fauna surrounding her was enough. It went against her PHD, but this was the first time she had seen the forests of Pandora. Why overcomplicate beauty with science?

Perhaps because the planet was so beautifully alien whilst being so similar to earth was at the heart of it, but Kate though that this was convoluted too. It was beautiful, plain and simple. Matt was sat with a tablet grasped in his hands, looking at the electrical impulses between the roots.

Kate sighed out of happiness and went to help Matt and Diablo.

That was before she heard the roar.

'Jesus, what was that?' Matt cried as Diablo leaped up, gun in hand.

There it was again- a roar that cut through the air like a razor blade, the heavy guttural sounds startling birds from their trees.

Kate searched frantically, not knowing where the sound had come from. She looked at the other two Avatars, their blue hands shaking. Matt more than Diablo, Kate noticed.

Another roar filled the air, louder this time, and Kate knew exactly where it was coming from. She turned around and screamed.

'It's a tiger' was Kate's immediate thought. But this tiger had six strong legs, and was black. Its muscular head held up a massive head, with a mouth holding countless sharp, black teeth. Quills ran from its ears, constantly moving.

For a moment Kate Warner was frozen in place, looking up at the angry beast. She tried to move her legs but couldn't.

'_This is it,' _she thought, staring at the animal's teeth. _'This is where I die'_

All of a sudden, Diablo yelled:

'Run!'

Kate's body came out of paralysis. She turned around, blindly running in the opposite direction. Diablo and Matt were by her side. She willed herself to run faster than ever before.

For some reason she thought of the 100m sprint at the boarding school she'd gone to. She'd won that one, she randomly thought. Pity her dad wasn't there.

Pulling herself out of such unnecessary thought, she focused on running, jumping over tree roots, the adrenaline pumping through her Avatar veins. The beast was right behind them, and she knew that if she slowed now she'd die. She tried to make slow turns, knowing that sharp ones would slow her down.

Behind her, the beast roared.

She pushed herself even harder, panting heavily, her legs aching. All of her body screamed at her to run faster as she leaped over fallen trees and ran through mossy undergrowth. She quickly glanced to her partners. Diablo was slightly ahead of her, his eyes determined, his arms and legs pumping furiously.

It was only when she looked left that she noticed Matt was falling dangerously behind. He tripped over a tree root. She didn't think of Matt now, her body only intent on surviving, her brain too busy to think that death in her Avatar body didn't mean death in her real body.

Then she heard screams. Looking back, she saw it.

The beast had got Matt.

Kate stopped, screaming. Matt was in the beast's jaws. Diablo turned and grabbed her arm, screaming

'LEAVE HIM!'

Almost crying, she turned and started running again, feeling stupid and selfish, knowing that Matt had unwillingly bought them time. She also heard yelps- not from Matt but from the beast.

She didn't bother looking back again.

Diablo jumped off of a ridge in front of them, and Kate followed suit, landing hard but still running. It was then that she realized that they'd made a terrible mistake. The animal jumped over her, landing in front of Kate and Diablo. She didn't scream, surprising herself.

Instead she walked slowly backwards before hitting the wall of rock they'd jumped off of. Diablo was already there, his gun still in his hands. The beast slowly walked towards the duo, relishing the hunt.

'Shoot it.' Kate whispered, frozen in fear again.

'I can't its armor's too thick!' Diablo looked at Kate with a vulnerability she hadn't seen before.

'We don't have any other choice, shoot it goddamn it, SHOOT IT!' The beast ran at them and Kate closed her eyes for a second before opening them to the sound of gunshots.

Diablo had the gun in the beast's mouth and was firing, screaming at the same time. The beast convulsed, dying. It slumped to the ground, Diablo's hand still in its mouth. He kept on screaming.

Kate was still shaking, not believing that it was over. Breathless, she fell to the ground. Then she looked up at Diablo. He in turn was looking at his right hand, his face strangely blank. Kate wondered what he was looking at. Then she saw it.

His little finger had been bitten off.

Kate was about to scream when Diablo put his left hand over her mouth. It's only my Avatars little finger.' He said. Kate removed his hand from her mouth, going slack.

'But if we don't get to the helicopter soon I'll pass out. I tried getting my finger back, but the stupid thing swallowed it.'

Kate stayed where she was.

'Diablo, you saved me…but Matt…'

He cut her off.

'Matt will be fine, just shaken up is all. His Avatar- that's a different story. And call me Dia already.' He held out his left hand to Kate.

She looked at it dubiously before taking it. Dia pulled her up and the two of them started to retrace their steps to the Sampson.

'Dia?' Kate said.

'Yeah?' He replied.

'Thanks.'

'Don't go getting soppy on me now, you hear?' He smiled.

Neither of them noticed the arrows protruding from the Sturmbeast's body- the arrows that had saved them both.


	8. Chapter 8: Seeing

**I longer one this time, we're getting into the meat of the story now :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>'Do you really think you should be out here so soon?' Kate asked Dia.<p>

They were in the Pandoran forest a day after the Sturmbeast had attacked them. Dia's wound had been cauterized, and he had a bandage around the tiny stump now

'It's just my little finger,' Dia said. 'I've had worse. And it's only my Avatar, I've still got ten fingers back at Hells Gate. '

'That's horrible! Your Avatar is a part of you, you know, even more so now we're using them.' Kate said, visibly annoyed.

'No it's not.'

'Yes it is. Why isn't it?'

'Why is it? It's like a pair of clothes, you can always make new ones.'

'It's a living, breathing being. Technically, our Avatars are us now.'

'No, they're not,' Dia replied, stepping over a rock. 'When we go to sleep, we wake up at Hells Gate, and our Avatars stop breathing stop moving- they die…'

'…Until we go back. I can't believe you're like this, it's made using your DNA- it could be your baby!'

'A ten foot tall blue baby? No thanks.' They both went silent.

They weren't looking for samples this time. They were trying to find Matt's Avatar.

_Poor thing_ thought Kate. Matt had been distraught, so she's been told. He hadn't come out of his quarters since the day before. Maybe it was just shock from leaving his body so violently.

She's only caught a glimpse of him the day before. He was shaking uncontrollably on his bed with a blanket over him. Kate had decided to leave him alone. She was never very good at consoling and besides, if he loved his Avatar as much as she did, she wouldn't succeed.

She'd be distraught if she lost her Avatar.

To suddenly loose a connection with Pandora, with the forest- she could see it driving people insane. Ever the optimist, Dia exclaimed:

'This is a waste of time, we won't be able to find it! I don't even know where we are.'

'Neither do I.' Kate replied, looking in all directions. 'But the least we can do is try.' To her surprise, Dia didn't say anything in reply.

No smarmy comments or bitter comebacks.

Just the silence that seemed to be more uncomfortable than arguing. She wished someone else was there with her.

After another hour of fruitless searching, they decided to turn back before they got really lost. Although she wouldn't admit it, Kate agreed with Dia. They weren't going to find Matt's Avatar. Sometime in the silent walk back, it started getting dark.

'Great,' Dia said. 'Now we're not gonna be able to see where we're going.' Kate clicked her tongue, annoyed. But soon after, bioluminescence started- a concept that they had both forgotten about.

'Hey,' Kate said to Dia. 'You're glowing.'

Puzzled, he looked up at Kate.

'So are you.' He said. It was with these words that everything started glowing green and blue. Kate stared in awe as they walked and walked: nearly off of a cliff face.

She stumbled more out of shock than instability, and Diablo pulled her back. Out before them was a waterfall, pure as the night sky. The forest continued on, trees tall and unwavering. She could see little, glowing fish swimming deftly in the pool of water below, darting in every direction.

She could see strange and exotic plants, emitting light as if in a competition with each other to see who could glow brighter.

It was unlike anything that she'd ever seen- and more stunning than anything that the earth had to offer. She could see, in this perfect, luminous forest, where humanity had gone too far.

She looked up in the sky, Polyphemus hanging in the air like it was on a string, and it seemed so close she felt that she could touch it.

She smiled, glancing up at Dia. She was surprised to see a couple of tear tracks stained on his face.

'Not you, too.' She laughed.

'Kate,' he said, looking at her, his face serious. Kate stopped laughing. She couldn't remember if he'd ever said her name before. 'Don't tell anyone about this.'

She smiled again.

'I'm serious.'

'Don't worry, I won't.'

The silence came again, more comfortable this time. Kate sighed.

They stopped there on the cliff, with feet dangling over the edge. They both forgot about the helicopter that was ordered to leave after so long. They both forgot about the dangers of Pandora.

They both forgot about the Na'vi.

Kate suddenly heard a shout behind her. It sounded like f-tang. She turned around to see an Avatar.

_An Avatar with a bow? Pointing at us?_

No, not an Avatar. A Na'vi. Fearful, she turned around, hands over her head in what she hoped was the universal sign of surrender. Kate wished that she's tried to learn Na'vi, cursing silently.

It was a girl behind the bow. Kate thought that she was young, even though she didn't know what an old Na'vi looked like. She was wearing next to nothing, with only bits of clothing covering her body. Kate found herself blushing.

The Na'vi had bigger eyes than the Avatars, and had only four fingers on each hand. Finally, the Na'vi started speaking in English, her accent thick.

'You must come.' she said slowly.

Not wanting to get shot, Kate complied. Dia looked like he was going to jump off of the cliff for a second, but then followed Kate.

'You should not be here.' The Na'vi said as she lead them through the forest.

'Don't tell me where I should be.' Dia said, his attitude returning. The girl stopped.

'You are dreamwalker.' She said.

'I don't know what the hell you're talking about, miss.'

'You are Sky People. Mother says you do not see.'

'I can see just fine,' Dia said, perhaps forgetting that he had no weapon. 'You always listen to your Ma?'

The girl looked confused. 'I don't know where you want to take us, but I don't wanna go. Come on, Kate.'

Kate shook her head, whispering:

'What if she takes us to her camp?'

'Yeah, what if? We'll be eaten alive.'

'Shutup, this is an opportunity. If the other guy could see the clan, why can't we?'

'I don't feel like waging war on our race.'

'Listen, we might not get another chance. If all goes well at least we'll have a safe place for our Avatars.'

After arguing some more, the Na'vi girl becoming increasingly confused, Kate persuaded Dia to come along. As they made their way through and across trees, Kate started to hear signs of civilization.

'You ever see that movie where the cannibals eat those two guys in the forest?' Dia smirked.

'Does that even exist?'

'No. I think we're about to make it.'

'Shutup, they're not cannibals.'

They walked over a sloped part of the forest and suddenly a great tree came into view, one of the larger ones that Kate had seen.

_That's an understatement. It's huge._

A small, controlled fire was crackling away in the distance, the only source of fire that she could see.

The rest of the camp was lit by strange blue lanterns. The Na'vi girl led them down towards the Hometree, looking nervous.

Before she knew it, Kate saw other Na'vi raise their heads and rush over, trying to touch them. Now it was Kate's turn to feel uncomfortable. Dia looked disgusted.

'What, you never seen an Avatar before, you dumb savages?' The girl whirled around, grabbing Dia why the collar of his shirt. Many bows were pointing at them, their tips sharp and menacing.. Kate raised her hands once more.

'That is not wise,' She whispered. 'Now come quickly. They jogged through the crowd of hostile Na'vi and through an opening in the tree. Kate thought that it was a wonder she hadn't been shot yet. Inside the tree, she saw a spiral going all the way up to the top of the tree, the light from the lanterns illuminating the way.

If Kate weren't so scared she would have been impressed. She then heard one deep female voice, cutting through the crowd's noise. Kate looked up and saw a Na'vi woman, wearing a lot more clothes than the others. Kate guessed this was the clan leader.

She spoke in English, her rage barely concealed.

'Ilyana, why did you bring these dreamwalkers here?' The lanterns lit up half of her face, making her appear sinister. The girl that had brought them to the Hometree, whom Kate guessed was Ilyana, hesitated.

'They were in danger…'

'I do not care! You saw what the Sky People did to…'

Another voice perked up, this time a man.

'Mo'at, if I may?' A Na'vi stood up.

_No,_ Kate thought_ an Avatar._

His eyes were small and he had ten fingers. Kate gasped. Was this the guy?

Mo'at nodded, and the Avatar went to Dia and Kate.

'Guys, what are you doing back here?' He whispered.

'Back?' Dia said. 'This is the first time I've been here.'

'You know what I mean. Jesus, they could've killed you.'

'No. It's just an Avatar.'

The guy looked confused.

'You Avatar is…'

Kate interrupted.

'Don't start this.' The Avatar looked at her.

'You gotta leave. Humans…shouldn't be here.

'You're a human,' Dia snarled. 'I don't care if you killed yourself to be in a fake body, Sully. Yeah, I know your name, Jake. I know all about what you did.'

Kate stopped them before Jake punched Dia and exiled them.

'Look, Jake, we're just here to study. Not to wage war.'

'How do I know that? I don't trust you.'

'Have you heard any miners?'

Jake hesitated.

' I didn't think so. Look, all we want to do is study, we love this planet as much as you do.'

'Could've fooled me.' Jake mumbled.

'Please, Jake,' she looked him in the eye. He was quite handsome in a way. 'Don't take this planet for yourself. We could save Earth.'

Jake didn't speak, thinking.

'Alright let me speak to Mo'at.' Kate smiled.

'Thanks.'

Jake walked up to Mo'at and whispered something in Na'vi Kate couldn't understand. After a few agonizing minutes, Mo'at looked up.

'Dreamwalker! You are to stay with us tonight. We shall decide your fate in the morning.' Kate held back a grin, knowing it wouldn't be appropriate. With Jake's guidance, they made their way up the tree.

Kate tried not to look at the view, knowing she'd fall off if she didn't concentrate.

'You'll sleep here for tonight.' Jake said coldly. 'I'll be watching you.' He walked off with an agility that Kate found scary. He didn't have to look at his feet.

'Charming.' Dia said.

'At least we're in the camp, no thanks to you. Tone it down a little, okay?'

Dia waved the comment away as they lowered themselves down slowly into the hammocks.

'Great, now we've got to sleep dangling of a tree,' Kate joked.

'Eh, I've slept in worse places.'

And with that, Kate closed her eyes, not knowing if they were extremely fortunate or horribly unlucky.


	9. Chapter 9: Two stories

**In this chapter we find out a bit more about Matt and Kate. Sorry if I've got any details wrong, I've tried to keep it as accurate as ever. And thank you guys for all of your reviews, they mean a lot to me and I enjoy reading them.**

**As ever, enjoy this chapter, and the next one will be up soon.**

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><p>The morning after Kate and Dia had gained access to the Omaticaya camp, the crew made a conscious effort to cheer Matt up. Max was worried.<p>

'He's not come out of that room for days,' he told Kate. 'We managed to override the lock and gain access to his room,' Max scratched his beard, picking up his coffee.

'He's not eaten anything, he's still got a blanket around himself. We've tried to talk but he doesn't listen.' Kate rubbed sleep for her eyes.

'You're not asking me to…' Max nodded slowly, taking a sip from his mug. 'Oh, Max, I couldn't talk to him, I'm hopeless.'

'You talked Jake into letting you into the camp.'

'Only for a day.'

'You talked Diablo into going with you.'

'Only because…' she paused, remembering not to tell Matt that he'd cried a little yesterday. 'Look, I don't think it's a good idea.'

'Kate, we've tried everything. Please, for his sake.

Kate sighed. She made her way to Matt's quarters, not knowing what she was going to say. She took a deep breath outside his room and decided it would be best to just go in. Slowly, she touched a button and waited for the doors to open. When they did, she went in and sat down next to the quivering Matt.

He looked thinner, his cheekbones more gaunt. Kate told herself that it was her imagination. He was wrapped in the same blanket that Kate had seen him in days ago.

Desperately needing to say something, she managed a:

'Hey.'

_Smooth, Kate, smooth._

Matt looked up at her as if she's just come in. It was a strange expression, which seemed to convey grief whilst also being blank. Kate fidgeted, feeling the most awkward she'd been in a while. She could almost see the tension, like it was some living entity.

Weakly, Kate said:

'It's going to be alright,' which she regretted as soon as the words left her mouth. Breathing out heavily, she decided to start again.

'Matt, I'm sorry.' She waited for a response. There was none. 'Other people can't understand, can they? What it's like to have an Avatar. They think they can but they can't.'

Still no response.

'When I first saw my Avatar, I fell in love. I couldn't imagine that such a wondrous creature came from a lab somewhere. It might sound a little stupid, but it was like a child-my child. It's a beautiful thing and I wouldn't trade it for all the unobtanium on Pandora.' Kate thought she could see something, a reaction from Matt. She carried on.

'I've not told this to anyone on the ship or on Hells Gate. I had a boyfriend, back on Earth. His name was Evan. I loved him- and he loved me. It wasn't long, seven months maybe, that he asked me to marry him. This was a while ago- I'd be seventeen, not thinking about Pandora much. I wanted to go, but that was in the future.

'I said yes. The wedding was one of the happiest days of my life. Two teenagers, drunk on love. It was fantastic. But of course, it had to end. I got pregnant. Silly, I know, but like I said, Pandora was a while away. I'd just started studying,'

Kate sighed at the memory, thinking that it wasn't a while ago: this had happened just before she'd come to Pandora. She couldn't tell this to Matt. Some things had to stay a secret.

'To cut a long story short, I miscarried. All the medical help, we couldn't afford it. I was in a car crash and it was my baby, or me' Kate sniffed, tears coming down her face now.

'I was out cold, so they asked Evan and he said me. I guess he thought we could always have another baby.

'But later on, he became angry. Said I should have died instead of the baby. He took to drinking and one night, he came home stinking of scotch. He hit me. After that he just upped and left. The divorce papers came a couple of weeks later.

'That's why I couldn't bear to lose my Avatar. It's like my baby. We were going to call her Ellie, you know.

'It might sound selfish but if we went back in time, I wouldn't change it. I'm sorry.' Kate was still crying, albeit more softly now. She was startled when she noticed that Matt had handed her tissues. She blew her nose.

'Thanks.' She smiled.

'No, thank you.' Matt said. Kate grinned, a little shocked.

'So you're not mute.' She said. Matt smiled sadly.

'Next to yours, my story seems pathetic.' He said.

'No story is pathetic, Matt.'

'I'm going to tell you mine. If anything I need to get it off of my chest instead of just moping in here like a bloody idiot.' He cleared his throat.

'My dad and me never really got along. After mum died of cancer when I was ten, my dad drunk, like your Evan. It seems tragedies bring out the alcoholic in us. I'd be drinking now if I had any,' he smiled.

'My dad said he didn't blame me, but I think he did. Those days I took to doing what I thought he'd want me to do, just to cheer him up. I tried engineering, amongst other things. They didn't help. When I chose science at sixteen, he seemed to lighten up a bit, stopped drinking so much. But not so much that I couldn't smell the bourbon on him when he came home.

'I carried on studying, not making many friends. I just wanted to please dad.' He wasn't crying, Kate noticed. He just looked angry.

'Then, just as I was about to leave for Pandora, he told me. He said, "In my day, someone like you would be dead by now. Now you're escaping this planet, go on escape! Good riddance to bad rubbish."

'I felt so angry. People like me? Good riddance to bad rubbish? I punched him, knocked him straight out. Told his unconscious body that I'm ten times the man he is. When he came to he told me to go. After a bit, I felt so sorry. I wished we could just go back. This was my last chance, Kate. My last chance to make Dad proud.'

That was the first time Kate noticed how young he was. He couldn't be more than twenty.

'I thought that if I was a different race almost, I could go back and tell him. Make him proud. Now, what have I got?' he sighed. Not knowing exactly what to do, Kate took his hand. Matt squeezed in reply. Kate turned her head and noticed Dia stood in the doorway. Letting go of Matts hand, she walked over.

'How much did you hear?'

'Enough.' Dia said.

'Right.'

'Come on, the Na'vi will be expecting us.'

Once she was in her Avatar, Kate noticed the lack of people in hammocks.

_The Na'vi get up early then_.

One Na'vi was on the branch, waiting for them. Kate climbed out of her hammock with some difficulty, whilst Dia effortlessly leaped out.

Kate looked sheepishly at the woman, very pretty, even against the high standards of the Na'vi.

'The clan is waiting for you down below.' She said to them. Kate noticed that her English was particularly good.

'What's your name?' Kate asked.

'Neytiri. Come with me.'

Dia shrugged and they walked down the spiral of the tree. The lanterns had gone out now, the sun giving them all the light they needed. It streamed through the leaves of the tree and warmed Kate as she walked out of Hometree. Outside, it seemed that most of the clan was waiting for them.

Kate nudged Dia and whispered:

'No calling them savages.'

He pulled a face as if to say: what, me?

Kate laughed, her mind partly on Matt. He had seemed okay now, and even went to the canteen to eat something.

When they were stood in front of everyone, much like the night before, Mo'at, who was in front of everyone along with the Avatars, Jake and Neytiri, started to speak.

'Jakesully has told us you have come to us to study. Is this true?'

'Yes…ma'am.' Dia said and Kate had to hold back a smile despite herself.

Saying no more, Mo'at took out a sharp needle that was hanging in an ornate small holster that hung from around her neck. Without warning, she pricked both of them with it, drawing blood. Kate cried out in surprise. Diablo looked as if he was going to strangle her. Lifting the needle to her mouth, Mo'at tasted the blood.

Dia looked at Kate. Seconds that felt like minutes passed as Mo'at thought. Finally, spoke.

'The dreamwalkers are to be allowed to stay in the camp. We will not teach them our ways, but will be permitted to sleep here. For some reason, Eywa smiles upon you, _uniltìrantokx_.'

Kate smiled, giddy with excitement. 'That is all.'

The Na'vi dispersed, leaving just Jake, Neytiri, Kate and Dia.

'You got lucky there guys, these people were one step off of eating you.' Jake laughed. Neytiri hit him playfully.

'I told you so!' Dia exclaimed. Kate burst out laughed, along with Neytiri and Jake.

Smiling as if he had just got the joke, Dia laughed too.


	10. Chapter 10: Mother

**We're in double figures now :D**

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><p>As soon as Kate entered her Avatar she felt at peace with the world. The forest was alive around her, the sounds of animals merging with the sound of the wind. The silky hammock felt warm on her skin and the air was fresh with a new day.<p>

Looking out from the hammock at the forest below her, it seemed serene and peaceful. Everything in touch with nature and nature looking over everything. Eywa watching over everything.

Kate stretched and saw Dia on the branch above her. He smiled.

'Good morning.' He grinned.

'You know you've already said that to me today.' Kate replied.

'Yeah, well, good morning Avatar Kate.'

She smiled.

'What, not Na'vi Kate?'

'Nah, you've got ten fingers, I've got nine, so technically, I'm more of a Na'vi!'

Kate made a show of rolling her eyes.

'You gonna leave a girl stranded or are you gonna help me up?'

Dia held out a hand. Kate grabbed his wrist.

'Aha,' Diablo said, pulling her onto the branch. 'Wrist's stronger than a hand. Smart.'

'Was that a compliment?'

'Not at all.'

Kate nodded before realizing they were still holding wrists. She pulled away quickly.

'So, what are we going to do?' She said awkwardly.

'We've got the day free, right?' Dia replied.

'Yeah, of course. Um…' Kate wandered into the Hometree, not finished her sentence.

Kate and Dia descended the spiral and went outside. The Na'vi weren't evading them now Mo'at had let them into the clan. Ilyana spotted them and waved them over.

'Kate! You must come and see, Miniri had a baby!'

Dia, noticing Ilyana was treating them like they were her best friends, shrugged at Kate. They walked over to see a group of Na'vi.

In the middle was a woman that looked the same age as Neytiri. Kate let out an _ah-h-h_ when she looked down and saw the small blue bundle in her arms. It was the cutest thing she's ever seen. It was remarkably like a human baby apart from its shock of hair.

'She was born a few weeks ago,' Ilyana smiled. 'She is called Ney`ite.'

Kate marveled at the wonder of life. Before she knew it she'd opened her mouth.

'Can I hold her?' she blurted out.

The mother smiled and seemed to contemplate it before nodding. Slowly and carefully, she transferred the baby into Kate's arms.

'Kaltxi.' She said, about the extent of her Na'vi.

She sat down, looking into the baby's eyes. She looked intelligent, her pupils darting around before resting on Kate's. She felt so warm and small and… amazing. Kate slowly rocked her, whispering sweet nothings. The Na'vi watched her as she held the baby close and spoke to it, never looking away from Ney'ite.

Before she knew it, Dia's hand was on her shoulder, and he spoke to her in a tender voice that she hadn't heard before.

'Kate, don't you think you should give her back to her mother?' Kate didn't look up and suddenly Ellie was being taken from her arms…

She gasped, tears forming at the edge of her eyes.

'I, I'm…' She ran off. Dia gave her some time before walking over to Kate.

She was sat on a bed of leaves in a clearing, picking the leaves up and ripping them. The leaves hung low from the branches and Dia was reminded of a willow tree. He thought he could see her crying.

He sat down in front of her and tilted his head to try and look into her eyes. She was looking at the ground, her hair dangling in front of her face.

'Kate…' he whispered.

She didn't respond.

'Do you want to talk about this?' Those words seemed to make her cry more. They waited together, neither of them saying a thing. Feeling useless and now knowing what else to do, Dia shuffled towards her and awkwardly put his arms around her.

Then she stopped trying to hold back tears and let them out. She put her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Dia, his chest wet with tears, whispered _it's okay_ repeatedly into her ear. Rocking her slowly, he continued to whisper, now settling for a quiet _shh. _

The tears flowed until her eyes seemed to dry up; Kate kept her arms around Dia and Dia kept her arms around Kate.

Slowly, Kate pulled away, now embarrassed. She wiped her eyes and sniffed before looking Dia in the eye. She tried to think of something to say but only managed a

'Sorry.'

Dia shook his head, his face grave.

'Don't be.'

'Promise not to tell?'

'Promise.'

Max Patel knocked on Matt's door before walking in. He'd become isolated again. It had looked like he'd been making a recovery, then he'd disappeared into his room and hadn't come out. Max was worried about the poor guy. Feeling that much pain, then…

Matt was gone.

'Matt?' Max called. He walked out of the room. 'Matt?'

He asked around to see if anyone had seen him around. They hadn't.

Max looked in the biolab, the linking room, and the administration room: he was nowhere to be found. Max, becoming increasingly worried, walked up to a computer next to decontamination, the doors that led outside. He touched the file marked 'logs'.

Even though he was nowhere else, Max found it hard to believe that he'd exited Hells Gate. He scanned through the logs, one catching his eye.

**ID#001293 Logged: 23:57 21/03/2160**

Still not believing it, Max clicked on the ID. Matt's face appeared on the screen.

'Guys?' He said to anyone around him.

'Matt's been gone for two days.'

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><p><strong>Sorry for the short one here guys, I just thought it flowed better on it's own, and I like ending a chapter on a cliffhanger :D<strong>


	11. Chapter 11: A Beacon of Humanity

**Thanks for all of the reviews, guys :) **

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><p>Matt knew what to do, so he ran. He ran through the thick forest. The plants and branches whipped at his face but he didn't care. He knew what to do so he didn't care.<p>

A single WASP revolver was stuffed into his trousers, six rounds in the chamber. He had stolen it from the armory that no one used much anymore. Matt continued to run.

The exopack gave him breathable air. He was panting heavily. He knew what to do.

Kate had told him, no story is pathetic. He knew now. He could go back to the old days, just him and his mum. Maybe even make Dad proud too. The revolver rubbed against his skin as he ran, making his skin raw and tender. He had removed the laser sight.

He wasn't going to shoot long-range targets.

He had received the message a few weeks ago. He wasn't going to do it at first, but now it was perfect. He'd show Dad. Matt was nearing his destination, the end of his journey. He saw the signs in the forest.

He laughed. He was ecstatic. He pumped his legs faster, taking the wasp out because it was hurting too much. He enjoyed the weight of the weapon in his hand. It felt good, like a weapon should feel. Used but clean, deadly. Finally, he saw his finish line.

A beacon of humanity in a world full of aliens. It was glorious.

On the ISV Venture Star, Lieutenant Grisby felt a grim satisfaction. He'd sent the message. Now all he had to do was wait.

Max had told Kate as soon as she'd come out of her Avatar.

_Matt's gone._

She couldn't believe it. It had looked like he was making a recovery, coming to terms with the loss of his Avatar. Apparently not. Almost everyone on the base was searching now, looking for clues that might lead to where he'd gone. They had people outside searching a perimeter, but Kate doubted that they'd find him.

Kate sincerely hoped that he was alive. His story had moved her in a way, it felt like the first step on the road to friendship. She hoped that that wasn't the reason he went, but somewhere, Kate knew that it was.

She had decided to search his room, found nothing and was now on Matt's computer. She looked at one of the only icons there- comm logs. She found nothing again. Something caught her eye when she was about to turn the monitor off. It was a small line of text amongst all of the others. It read:

*****Log Deleted*****

Immediately curious, Kate leaned out of the room and called to Max.

'Max!' He looked over from a different room. 'I think I've found something!' He rushed into the room along with several other people.

'What is it?' He said.

'Look at this,' Kate replied, touching the screen where the log was supposed to be. 'Can we recover it?' she asked.

'All the logs are stored in a computer up in admin. They can't be deleted up there.'

Kate leaped up off the chair and exited the room, Max jogging in front and leading her up some gray stairs into the administration room. The room was full of computers, some with curved screens, some just simple desktops. The sunset provided a little light through the circle of windows. Going up to a desktop, Max clicked on the icon marked **Logs/all_users/**

'We don't shut these computers down. Sometimes it's handy for them to be on all of the time.' Max explained.

Kate noticed that he hadn't trimmed his beard for a while. It made him look rugged. After clicking through more screens, the log Matt had deleted appeared. Holding her breath, Kate read it. It was deliberately short to reduce costs.

**To the mine, as planned.**

In their Avatars, Kate and Dia ran the same path that Matt had run only hours before.

'A familiar occurrence, this' Kat thought, Dia by her side.

'_Eywa help us if another Sturmbeast attacks. We don't even have a gun._

Slowing out of fatigue, Kate looked at the sign that marked the entrance to the mine. They weren't really necessary, a road big enough to drive great machines was cleared through the forest. There were no footprints in the dust, however.

Matt must have come a different way.

'Hey, wait up!' Kate panted. She bent over, her hands on her knees.

'Kate, we've got to get to the mine!' Dia said

'I know, just slow down a little.' She caught her breath and continued jogging.

Her first thought when she saw the mine was of how big it was. It had to be a Kilometer across.

'We'll never find him here.' Kate gasped.

'You're telling me.' Dia replied, shaking his head. 'We shouldn't even try.'

'No,' Kate said. 'We should. We owe it to him, poor guy. There's only a few human-operated mines close to us. He can't have gone far.'

'Jesus. What the hell is he doing here?'

Kate started walking down a slope to a hole in the side of the mine.

'Something bad.'

Kate and Dia, along with a few others with exopacks, were still searching the mine when it turned dark. As they shone their torches down another hole, built high enough for Avatars, Kate sighed. She rubbed her eyes, tired. Dia said nothing.

'What's up?' Kate asked, looking at his puzzled face.

'Do you hear that?'

'Hear what?'

'That beeping. Shh.'

Kate strained her ears. She couldn't hear anything. She tried harder, and a faint beeping noised could be heard.

It beeped, then paused for two or three seconds, then started again.

'Yeah, I hear it.' Kate whispered.

Dia walked into the mine, his torch penetrating the darkness, the beam touching the corners of the rock and pouting unnatural light into the room.

'Come on.' He motioned for Kate to follow. A little scared, she followed, her torch lighting his back.

A little way into the mine, the ground sloped sharply downwards. Kate shone her torch down.

'Looks steep.' She commented.

'We could make it down.' Dia said, putting his foot on the slope. A rock tumbled down and hit the ground.

Kate looked nervously back at the entrance. The light was dim now, the sun going down. The beeping was louder.

'Whatever is beeping is down here,' Dia said. 'And probably Matt too.'

What the hell is he doing down here?

Slowly, Kate placed her feet onto the sloped surface. Carefully, she walked forward, scraping her feet on the ground to stop herself from sliding .

'What are you doing?' Dia said.

'Huh?' She wobbled.

'Just go on your ass.' He laughed

'Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry.'

At the bottom, Kate stood up, brushing the dirt off of her shorts.

'I'm gonna get you back for th…'

'Stay where you are.'

A voice came out of the darkness. Kate pointed her torch at the unknown, and saw a figure shield his eyes.

'Get that out of my eyes!' Kate pointed the torch at the figures feet. Looking up, Kate and Dia saw Matt.

And he was pointing a gun right at them.

'Woah,woah,woah,' Dia said, putting his hands on his head. 'Calm down, man.'

Kate kept the torch on him but put her hands up. His eyes were bloodshot, with bags under them. They looked vacant, that look that you don't ever see but you know what it is when you see it. It looked like he's gone crazy. His clothes were ripped slightly, and his hands were dirty.

Kate swallowed, then asked in a shaky voice:

'What are you doing Matt?'

'I'm helping mankind,' he said calmly. 'I got a message, you know.'

'I know, Matt, we found it.'

'Shutup! They wanted me to do something.'

'What did they want you to do, Matt?'

'Help them.'

'Help them how?' Dia chirped in. Matt turned to point the gun at him.

'Help them by cleansing this planet.'

Kate gasped. Cleansing? _Please don't say what I think he's gonna say._

'Matt, you might feel a little confused, but you need to stop and think for a while.' Kate said slowly, trying to keep calm.

'Confused? I'm not confused, Kate, you're confused!' Matt's voice was raising. 'I'm going to help the human race, I'm killing the Na'vi!'

'How are you going to do that, Matt?'

He laughed, first without opening his mouth and then a full, wholehearted laugh.

'Wouldn't you like to know! Look around the corner!' Dia immediately shone his torch to where he was pointing, stepping forwards to look around the corner. Matt was still laughing. Kate followed Dia.

'My god…' Dia muttered.

The torch illuminated a silver case not far from them, a timer on he front of it. It read:

**23:09:21**

Each time a second went, it beeped.

'The bastard's activated a bomb.' Dia gasped.

Kate was suddenly overcome with a wave of anger.

'Matt, do you realize what you've done?' Kate said, turning towards him.

'Yes, I've…'

'No!' Kate shouted. 'Listen to me, Matt! You've killed us all! How could you be selfish? What would your dad think, you idiot?'

Matt looked helpless for a second, then tried to speak again.

'Kate, I've saved…' She interrupted again.

'No, you've saved no one! You've condemned people to death, what your father said was true, you are bad rubbish!'

This seemed to hit a nerve as the humanity came back into Matts eyes.

'Listen, I'm nothing like…' tears were in his eyes.

'Matt, you've gone insane, you stupid bastard,' Dia said. 'You're worse than what your dad said.'

Matt started crying.

'I'm…I'm… Oh god, what have I done?' he cried. 'What…WHAT HAVE I DONE? HELP ME!'

Dia shook his head, spitting on the ground.

'You've killed us.'

'I'm sorry…' he sobbed. He lowered his head, weeping. 'Please, forgive me.'

In a flash, Matt lifted the gun to his chin. There was a deafening bang and a blinding flash as he pulled the trigger.

The bomb ticked down.

**23:07:15**

**23:07:14**

**23:07:13**


	12. Chapter 12: At peace with Eywa

**Sorry for not updating for a while. I've been working on my other story over at Fictionpress. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter guys and gals :)**

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><p><strong>23:06:13<strong>

**23:06:12**

**23:06:11**

The darkness of the cave enveloped Kate and Dia, absorbing them and denying them anything more than the weak flashlight beams. Kate was sat down with her back to the wall, forgetting how to do anything due to shock. Dia tried to keep the beam of light away from Matt's dead body, away from the mural of blood on the wall. Kate put her head in her hands, gently rocking herself.

The only sound was of the incessant beeping, not letting them forget that a meter away from them was Pandora's end. Kate felt a presence beside her. She didn't look up. An arm was being put around her. She neither shunned nor welcomed it. From the darkness, a voice:

'Kate,' the voice was surprisingly soft. 'Kate, we need to tell someone. We need to get back.'

After some time, Kate managed to find her voice. It was hoarse and dry, like she hadn't spoken for days.

'He's gone…'

'Kate, I know, I know. But if we don't tell someone soon it might be too late.'

'Why did he do this, Dia?'

'It doesn't matter now, Kate. I need to tell someone. You stay here, I'm going to…'

'No!' Kate cried, holding onto Dia's arm. 'Don't leave me.'

'Kate, listen to me. We need to…' Kate cut off Dia.

'Please, Diablo.' His avatar body felt warm. 'Don't leave me on my own. Not with Matt.'

'Okay, Kate okay,' Dia did his best to comfort her. 'Come with me.'

Slowly, Dia pulled Kate up. Kate fumbled around and managed to grab his hand. Together, they walked slowly out of the mine. Dia couldn't help but think that they were wasting precious time going so slowly up the steep slope. They had to warn somebody, anybody. He'd heard that some of the weapons specialists could defuse bombs. In the best case scenario, the bomb could be defused in the next hour or so.

Kate and Dia emerged from the mine and into the night. Here it was darker than they'd ever seen on Pandora, because the man-made equipment didn't glow like the forest did. Kate was still holding Dia's hand, not saying a word. Dia waved over a human, shouting at him.

'There's a bomb! Tell Max there's a live bomb in the mine!'

'A bomb, sir?'

'Yes, like an A-bomb! Go, quick, we're wasting time!' The guy ran off with some other people. Dia hoped that someone could defuse it. Kate let go of Dia's hand and sat down again. Dia, not wanting to leave her there, sat down next to her. The air felt thick and heavy, like a storm was coming.

Kate spoke again.

'That's the first real dead body I've ever seen.'

Diablo Garcia looked at her. Her face was blank, her eyes staring into space.

'He looked so sad…Dia, I did that. I shouted at him when I shouldn't have.'

'Kate, It's not your fault.' Dia said.

'Yes, it is. He set up a bomb…he was just confused. He didn't know what he was doing, he…he…'

'It doesn't matter. He's at peace now. At peace with Eywa.'

They went silent, watching the heavy clouds slowly drift across the night sky.

'You know, sometimes I think Eywa is real, then I get angry at myself,' Kate said, more to herself than to Dia. 'Sometimes I look at the forest, or the baby we saw the other day, and I think: How can Ewya not be real? Something this beautiful couldn't be here out of chance. The connection with the forest, the sacred tree…it all just seems like Eywa is looking down on us, keeping things in balance with the forest. Maybe these people haven't got technology like us because Eywa won't let them destroy something beautiful. Maybe she's seen what's happening to Earth and doesn't want that. Then I get angry, because I think that Eywa isn't real. Eywa is just the name given to the electrical reactions between trees. That Eywa is another God. That the Na'vi will make buildings and conquer other clans and create books and guns and cars. I mean, they can't read. Part of me thinks that the Na'vi are us. They're stone-age man. They'll figure out how to make metal swords instead of bows and arrows, explosive guns instead of swords. They're so similar to us, how can they not? These are people we're talking about here, some Na'vi have to be philosophers, to doubt Eywas existence. Then I see the beauty of the forest and try to shove those thoughts out of my mind. But now, I can't. If Eywa is real, why did she let Matt set off the bomb? Why did she condemn her planet to death?'

'Maybe she knows we can get through this.' Dia said, still looking at Kate. She bit her lip. She couldn't help but breathe in his scent. Neither of them noticed their tails touching. Kate heard a vehicle. They'd brought help. She didn't know what to say. Maybe they could get through this. She was almost angry with herself again because she let her feelings get the better of her. She stayed on the ground, not wanting to leave Dia, but he stood up.

On the way he kissed her on the forehead.

'We'll get through this, Kate.' He tried to smile at her.

**21:25:02**

**21:25:01**

**21:25:00**

The bomb-disposal team stood inside the mine, with the equipment that the avatars had carried down for them. Without opening the case, they didn't know what type of bomb it was. It was procedure to clear out everyone. In other cases, they would use a remotely controlled robot to try and defuse it, but it wouldn't work this low down. After several careful minutes, the team carefully removed the casing of the bomb, exposing the innards.

'Oh, Christ…' one of the team said. All the others heard it. The beeping was going faster. The timer was going down quickly. Then they hit another problem.

The team gasped in unison.

Kate and Dia were outside when a man in a bomb-disposal suit and an exopack ran up to them.

'Is it done? Is it defused?' Dia asked, stepping forward.

The man sighed.

'Not yet.'

'Why not?' Kate asked.

'Inside the bomb…inside the bomb was a transmitter.'

'So? What does that mean?'

'It means that this isn't the real bomb. There's another one somewhere. And we've got four hours to defuse it.'

**03:59:59**

**03:59:58**

**03:59:57**

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><p><strong>*EDIT* For those of you who read it when there were three hours left, I changed it to four to correspond with the bomb timer<strong>


	13. Chapter 13: End

**02:56:45**

**02:56:44**

**02:56:43**

'Mo'at!' Dia ran over to the clan leader. Inside Hometree he felt warm and safe. He wished that the bomb had never been set off. He was just beginning to see Hometree as familiar, his home away from home. Everyone was searching for the bomb. The whole of Hell's Gate was looking for it, knowing that if they didn't find it soon, they would all be goners.

A lot of people wanted to leave Pandora. It wasn't possible. There was no way they could get a ship up and running and leave the planet in four hours. Thus, people were searching in any place they hadn't looked yet. Other mines, outside Hell's Gate, even into the forest. Dia was supposed to be looking too. He wasn't.

He wasn't looking because he doubted that they'd find it. Even if he did, the camp was half an hour by helicopter. One man wouldn't make a difference against humanity, especially since there was only three hours left on the clock. He would rather spend the time tying up loose ends. He knew he was going to die.

Mo'at didn't turn around, instead gestured for him to sit by her. Dia did so, taking a good look at everything. It might be his last. Mo'at turned her head and looked at him. Her expression didn't change from being neutral.

'Diablo Garcia,' she said in her deep voice. 'What have you come to ask?'

Dia didn't keep the surprise from his face. A faint smile passed the clan leaders lips.

'You have come to me to ask something.' She said again. Dia nodded, opening his mouth to speak.

'I was wondering…' he paused, thinking of how ignorant he might sound. He went on anyway.

'Why did you let me in the clan?'

Mo'ats expression stayed cool.

'Diablo Garcia. Your intentions are good.'

'But…' Mo'at stopped him by raising her hand.

'Let me finish. When I tested you, Eywa told me this. This dreamwalker, he wishes you no harm. Yet he hides. He hides behind a shell. I have seen such people before, even in animals. They are vulnerable. Sometimes afraid of what they do not understand. They wear this shell around them, to protect them. They don't want people to see their true self. It is foolish. Sometimes one of these people or one of these animals will think that they are weak. They do what they think is best. They act like an angry warrior. This is why I let you in. You mean us no harm, but you are afraid of yourself.'

Diablo was about to contradict her when he realized that everything she'd said was true. He had to acknowledge that.

'You're right.' He sighed.

'I am rarely wrong. But something tells me you have tried to open up to someone before. This Kate.'

Dia held himself back.

'You love this one, and you are once again afraid, afraid that it will never happen.' Mo'at looked down. 'Evil is coming. You know that we will die.'

Dia nodded, holding back tears.

'Yes.' He said.

'The people must not know of this. Eywa says that she had accepted it. So must I.'

'There's still a chance of survival.'

'That chance is slim, Diablo Garcia. You know this.' Mo'at stood and walked away, leaving Dia sat in Hometree, alone.

Kate was sat down against a tree when Diablo came over to her. Sitting down, he said:

'You're not looking for it either?'

Kate shook her head, looking at him.

'I looked all around here. It's hopeless.'

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying each others company.

'We're going to die, aren't we?' Kate asked.

'It could be a hoax. Or the bomb could not go off…'

'We both know that's not going to happen.' Kate looked at him again.

'Yeah, I guess we do.'

'At least we'll go out on Pandora together. It's beautiful, but we opened the box and now we're going to pay.'

'Very poetic.'

'You think so?'

'Yeah.'

They laughed.

'You know Kate, I…' She put a finger to his lips.

'Let's go running, Dia. Without the Palulukan.' She grinned.

**00:59:59**

**00:59:58**

**00:59:57**

Max was in Hells Gate, furiously looking for the bomb. He looked at his watch One hour to go. He thought about giving up, but he couldn't. He had to find it, had to disarm it.

Kate ran through the forest, laughing. Dia was behind her.

'Keep up!' she shouted. They ran and ran until Kate had to stop at a cliff. She doubled over, gasping for breath. Dia caught up to her. Realizing where she was, she smiled.

'Recognize this place?'

**00:31:30**

**00:31:29**

**00:31:28**

Max looked in every room, under every desk. Nothing. Half an hour to go. In his frustration he threw his arms about, sweeping them over a desk and knocking everything to the ground. They couldn't do this! It wasn't fair!

Kate and Dia sat on the same cliff they'd been on when they'd been looking for Matt's Avatar. That seemed like an age ago now. Looking at the forest, Kate felt the air tingling between them. Silence was all that was needed.

Then, in the corner of her eye Kate saw what she thought was an insect. It floated down and landed on her lap gracefully. Then she realized. This was a seed of the sacred tree. Eywa was blessing them. She nudged Dia.

'Look.'

**00:06:12**

**00:06:11**

**00:06:10**

Max sat outside the base admiring the scenery. He looked at his watch. Five minutes. No way was he going to live now. He wanted his last thoughts to be of Pandora and the joy that it had brought him.

'Kate… I wanted to tell you…'

'Don't say it Dia, for Gods sake, don't say it.'

'Why not?'

'I don't want to cry.'

'I need to say it.'

'No. I know it. You know it. You know it too.'

They broke off from the embrace, their faces closer than they'd ever been. She could feel his breath, feel his heartbeat. She wished this were a different time. With all the passion of lovers about to die, they kissed.

The last thought that ran through Max's mind was of Grace. He wondered where she was.

**00:00:02**

**00:00:01**

**00:00:00**

From the ISV Venture Star Five, Lieutenant Grisby watched the explosion. A blinding flash of light followed by a cloud spreading across the land. It was done. He didn't like it, but it was necessary. Necessary for humanity. The crew watched with him, some crying, some not. Grisby looked away, telling himself it was necessary. All is fair in love and war.

In cryosleep, Selfridge didn't dream.

**The End**

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><p><strong>Thanks everyone for reading my story set in the Avatar Universe. I hope you enjoyed it.<strong>


	14. A message to all those who felt cheated

'A message to all those who felt cheated'

As I've been informed by reviews, this story ended with a sort-of deus ex machina in which a bomb destroys Pandora. I feel that I have let myself down, as you too feel cheated.

My original intent for this story was vague. I had an idea in my head that I liked and I tried to go with it- some ideas that I had I later found out would not be possible in this fiction, in this universe. I have been told that this ending was rushed, and it was. I found myself in a situation where I had these three good characters, but my original intent felt sloppy when I wrote it. Thus, I wrote another ending that wasn't in my mind when I wrote this story.

The real problem with this story was there was no real planning. This is what I feel is my biggest weakness. I changed my mind as to what would happen after the first chapter, as you may have guessed because it would take the humans six years to arrive at Pandora. The event with the Palulukan where Dia looses his finger was going to tie in with the later story, but I instead forgot about it. I found myself with new characters and focused too much on them, and as you may have noticed the presence of Jake and Neytiri faded out towards the end. Without Planning, I couldn't keep track of everyone.

This is by no means an excuse. There are some elements I like in this story, but as a friend of mine said, his favourite chapter was the second one. When I have an idea in my head, I tend to rush the story towards it because I want to put it down on paper. I noticed that the bomb was perhaps a bad idea when I wrote later chapters, finding that with the timer going, I could not write in anything else.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. I handled this story sloppily and didn't give it the attention it deserved. I urge you to not be put off of my future stories with this attempt and I promise to take extra care with pacing and planning in future.

Again, I'm sorry and hope you can forgive me for what I've done to my characters and to my story.

-Joshua Chandley


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